


How to Find a Book (or How to Shut Merlin Up)

by SlantedKnitting



Series: kink meme fills [10]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Modern Era, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 17:43:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlantedKnitting/pseuds/SlantedKnitting
Summary: Merlin and Arthur are working on a group project, and even though Arthur definitely asked him to, Merlin didn't pick up the book they need before their meeting. Exasperated, Arthur takes Merlin to the library stacks to locate it.





	How to Find a Book (or How to Shut Merlin Up)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](https://kinksofcamelot.livejournal.com/1806.html?thread=532494#t532494) Kinks of Camelot prompt!

"I thought I told you to get the book _before_ we met," Arthur says as Merlin sets his bag down on the table.

"When did you tell me that?"

"I texted you hours ago."

Merlin sits down across the table from Arthur and pulls out his mobile to check.

"Oh," he says, not looking sheepish or apologetic or anything other than woefully dim. "Sorry, must have missed it."

"Obviously."

"Keep your voice down," Merlin says, giving Arthur an admonishing look.

Arthur just rolls his eyes. It's true they’re in a library, but he's pretty sure there's no one else on this floor. It's so late that most other students have given up on studying for the night. But Merlin couldn't meet until now, courtesy of his job at the cafe.

"Why couldn't you have gotten the book?" Merlin asks.

"Because I asked you to do it."

Merlin huffs and roots around in his bag for a moment. He pulls out a notebook and a handful of pens, which he offers to Arthur.

"I have one," Arthur says, and Merlin shrugs. "_Well_," Arthur says after Merlin just continues sitting there like a buffoon. "Are you going to go get the book or not?"

Merlin actually scowls at him. "Where is it?"

"Jesus Christ," Arthur mutters. He opens his laptop and searches for the book on the library site. When he's found it, he grabs Merlin's notebook and tears out a page to scribble down the call number. "Come on," he says, standing up and heading for the stacks, not at all trusting Merlin's ability to find the damn book on his own.

Merlin follows, doing something on his mobile rather than paying any attention, and so he walks right into Arthur when Arthur stops at the right row.

"Why'd you stop?" Merlin asks, putting his mobile in his pocket.

"It's called an apology, Merlin."

Merlin scowls again, and Arthur sighs, wishing he had been assigned literally anyone else to do this stupid project with. He hands Merlin the piece of paper and gestures down the aisle, wanting to see if Merlin even knows how to locate books properly.

It looks promising for a moment, but then Merlin frowns and shakes his head.

"It's not here."

"It wasn't marked as checked out on the site," Arthur says, unconcerned. "That means it's here."

"Well, then it's not where it's supposed to be."

Arthur walks over to where Merlin is stood in front of a packed shelf. "Then look harder."

"You look harder," Merlin mutters, shoving the paper at Arthur's chest.

Arthur takes it and runs his fingers along the spines of the books, looking for the title.

Merlin is right. The book isn't where it's supposed to be. But it's not checked out, which means someone must have just put it back in the wrong spot.

"Check that shelf," Arthur instructs, pointing to the one above. He takes the lower shelf, which means his head ends up right at Merlin's crotch.

"Enjoying yourself?" Merlin asks, shifting over a little, getting even closer.

"Fuck off."

"Or I could fuck on."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Arthur straightens up, not having found the book.

"I don't know."

Arthur groans. "Do you ever just shut up?"

Merlin actually smirks. "No. You're welcome to try to make me, though."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"If you have to ask, you're a lot dumber than you think you are."

"I'm not—"

"You are. It's a good look, though."

"What is?"

"Being dumb. On you, at least."

Arthur isn't sure how to respond to that. Was it a compliment or an insult? How had Merlin managed to make it both?

"What's it called again?" Merlin asks, his eyes back on the books.

Arthur hands the paper back over, and Merlin compares it with his shelf.

"Not here," he declares, folding up the paper and sticking it between two books. "Any other ideas?"

"Keep looking."

"It's not—"

"Keep looking!"

"Jeez," Merlin says, and it looks like he's trying not to laugh. "Fine."

"I _told_ you to pick it up before your shift," Arthur says. "The librarians aren't even here anymore. If we can't find it and we have to come back tomorrow--"

"Your whole life will be ruined," Merlin says happily. "Got it."

Arthur resists the urge to pull out a book and smack Merlin with it. Merlin is so… so… _so_. He's so annoying, and he's so cheeky, and he's so rough around the edges. He's so useless, and he's so bloody cheerful all the time, and he's so distracting. He's always there in class, sitting next to Arthur and talking in his ear during lectures, or settling behind Arthur and poking him with the tip of his pencil when they're meant to be paying attention, or plopping himself down right in front of Arthur and obstructing his view.

Arthur has known Merlin since they lived in the same hall the year before, but this is the first time they're in a class together, and it's almost unbearable. Merlin is always _everywhere_, and it's all Arthur can do to pay attention in class.

"Is this it?" Merlin asks, holding up a random book.

"Dumb isn't a particularly good look on _you_," Arthur says.

Merlin just chuckles and puts the book back.

"Well. I don't know," he says, not looking worried. "It's not here. We can ask the librarians tomorrow—"

"I told you I don't want to have to come back tomorrow."

"Yes, and I heard you. But I'm not sure what the other option is."

Arthur huffs and goes back to looking at the shelves, trying to find the damn book. It has to be _somewhere_. The site had said it was on the shelves, ready and available for them to use for their stupid project.

"Have you thought about doing a mating call?" Merlin asks.

"What?"

"To find the book. Maybe if you do a dance—"

"Do you _ever_ shut up?"

"I told you you're welcome to try to make me."

"Yes, but I still don't know what that means."

"You know exactly what it means," Merlin says, his voice suddenly quieter.

Arthur pauses, sure that Merlin can't possibly mean _that_. Not when Arthur's been barking at him for the past twenty minutes. Not when they're meant to be working on this project. Not when there hasn't been anything between them until just now.

Except, that's a bit of a lie. There had been that one night, last year, when Merlin had come back to the dorms drunk and tried to get in Arthur's room instead of his own. Arthur had let him in, and Merlin had given him a long hug, _sniffed his hair_, and kissed his neck.

But then he'd puked, and Arthur had just chalked it up to the alcohol.

Maybe it had been a rare moment of truth, though.

Arthur gets drawn back into the moment by Merlin sniggering.

"A _very_ good look," he says, his voice light and teasing again.

Arthur glares at him and turns to the shelves again, giving them one last hopeful search. He really doesn't want to have to come back tomorrow. He just wants to get the project over with so he and Merlin can go back to being friends—or whatever they are—instead of this. Because this is infuriating.

"I still think the mating dance—"

"Oh, would you—" Arthur cuts himself off and shuts up Merlin with a hard kiss.

Merlin leans into it, getting his hand in Arthur's hair and opening his mouth after just a few seconds. He slides his tongue against Arthur's, and Arthur turns to press him against the shelves.

Merlin is so very warm against him. Warm and solid and eager. He moves his hands to Arthur's waist and tugs on his belt loops, pulling Arthur closer. He nips at Arthur's lips as they kiss. He lets out a soft sound of pleasure as Arthur curls a hand around the nape of his neck. He does everything just right, and Arthur starts getting hard in his jeans.

He's never considered that Merlin could be like this. He's so bold and _hot_ and open. He keeps pulling Arthur's hips against his own, pressing their crotches together. And he keeps pausing their kissing to flick his tongue in Arthur's ear. And he keeps making the most delicious sounds whenever Arthur does the same.

"This is…" Arthur says, not entirely sure where the sentence is going but feeling the need to say something, to ground what they're doing back in some kind of reality.

"No talking," Merlin says. He reaches between them and palms Arthur's cock through his jeans.

Arthur breathes hard. His cock's not in a particularly comfortable position, trapped as it is in his briefs, but the pressure of Merlin's hand feels good. It feels really good.

He finds that he wants to make Merlin feel good, too, so he pushes Merlin's hand away and palms Merlin's cock instead. It's hard, and it feels long and thick against his hand. Merlin bites down on his lip as Arthur strokes him with the heel of his palm, and Arthur leans in to lick across that lip.

Merlin opens his mouth again, his kiss hungry and a bit sharper.

Emboldened, Arthur undoes Merlin's flies and gets a hand down his pants. His cock is hot to the touch, fat and smooth, and the tip is a little wet.

Merlin tosses his head back, hitting some books, and the shelves shake a little.

"Shush," Arthur says even though Merlin hadn't made a sound.

Merlin gets both hands in Arthur's hair and pulls him in for a kiss as he starts stroking Merlin's cock in earnest. Arthur kisses him sloppily, distracted by what his hand is doing and how good Merlin's cock feels in his grip and all the little sounds Merlin is making. He's huffing and panting and whimpering and—he lets out a moan that's a little too loud.

"Shush," Arthur says again. He knows they're alone, but he doesn't want to tempt fate.

"You shush," Merlin hisses. He drops one hand to Arthur's back and lifts up the hem of his shirt. He holds onto the small of Arthur's back, pulling Arthur closer, and Arthur has to adjust the angle of his wrist to keep going.

Because there's no way in hell he's stopping.

"Ah," Merlin cries out when Arthur brushes his thumb over the tip of Merlin's cock.

"Shush," Arthur says, and then he kisses Merlin to shut him up again. Merlin's hips buck against Arthur, his back pressing into the stacks and making them shake again. Arthur uses his free hand to try to stabilize them.

Merlin moans into his mouth, and Arthur crowds him against the shelves, trying to get him to be quiet, trying to muffle the sounds. He doesn't want to share this moment with anyone. He doesn't want to be found, to have this ruined. He just wants it to go on and on, with the two of them pressed together, too hot and too close but just right.

Merlin gasps and then groans, leaning his head back with his eyes closed. Arthur takes one look at that long stretch of neck and loses his mind a little. He dives in, getting his lips on it, then his teeth, then his tongue, and Merlin keeps making those little noises. He seems to have remembered where they are because he's doing a decent job of trying to choke them off, but sometimes one gets through at full volume, and Arthur gets achingly hard listening to him.

"Arthur," Merlin breathes, grabbing his hair and pulling him up for a hard kiss. "I'm—"

Arthur cuts him off with another kiss, loving the idea of Merlin being close. He doesn't want this to end, doesn't want to face whatever consequences there might be afterwards, but he does want to see Merlin come. He wants to see pleasure written across his face, wants to hear him moan, wants to feel his cock pulsing.

"Arthur," Merlin says again, his voice a little rougher. Arthur groans and goes back to sucking on Merlin's glorious neck, ready for the next moment.

Merlin whimpers and shifts up on his toes, causing the entire row of books to shake, and Arthur grabs at his hair, trying to hold him in place. He lets out a quiet moan, and then a louder one as he starts to come, and Arthur smothers the sound with his lips. Merlin clings to him, both hands clenched around Arthur's shirt, and pants into the kiss.

Arthur strokes him through it, loving the throbbing of his cock, until Merlin moves one hand to his wrist. He slows, giving Merlin's cock a few more long pulls, and then stops. His hand is sticky and starting to cramp from the weird angle, his lips feel wet and swollen, and he can tell his hair is a mess from Merlin's hands.

Merlin drops back down on his heels and lets out a shuddering sigh. He still seems lost it in, like he'd been on another plane of reality and only his body has returned, his mind still floating out there, free and limitless.

Arthur nuzzles him, and Merlin blinks as he comes back to himself.

"You shut me up," Merlin whispers.

Arthur chuckles. "Barely."

"Guess you'll have to try again."

Arthur grins, hiding it against Merlin's neck, and pulls out his hand. He wipes it on his shirt and gives his own cock a quick adjustment.

"So…" Merlin trails off, and Arthur looks up to see him biting his lip.

Arthur kisses him, brushing his tongue across that lip and then giving it a nibble as well.

"So, my dorm is closer than yours."

Merlin's smile is radiant. "What about the book?"

"Tomorrow," Arthur says. "For now I have to keep trying to shut you up."

Merlin kisses him, softly, briefly, and leads the way back to their things. The night cleaner is there, pushing his bin between the tables and picking up stray papers.

Arthur glances over and sees that Merlin is bright red. They grab their things quickly and hurry down the stairs, both of them avoiding any eye contact with the cleaner.

"Do you think he heard us?" Merlin asks once they're outside.

"Dunno. You were a bit…"

"I thought we were alone!"

"I kept telling you to shush."

"Since when have I ever listened to you?"

Arthur grins and pulls out his keys as they approach his building. They sneak past the common room where Arthur's mates are playing a loud drinking game and head up the stairs. Arthur's room is at the end of the hall, and they barely make it inside before they're on each other again, hands in hair and tongues in mouths.

Arthur kicks the door shut, and Merlin immediately drops to his knees, looking up at Arthur with a devilish smile.

"May I?" he asks, already undoing Arthur's flies.

"As if I'd say no."

"You can say anything you like, and I won't tell you to shush."

"You, on the other hand," Arthur says as Merlin pulls his jeans and pants to the floor, "had better shut up."

Merlin smirks and sits back on his haunches. "Why don't you make me?"

Arthur takes a step forward, guiding his cock into Merlin's ready, waiting mouth. "Don't mind if I do."


End file.
